Where the Mind Dies Session 5, Crepitation
Under the dim light of the moon, Kaylin leads you down the winding back alleys of Ulferveil, finally coming to a rusted iron grate in the center of the street. “This is where I came out after I escaped,” Kaylin explains, as she scans the street for passersby. The only living thing in view is a drunken vagrant slumped against a wall. Satisfied that the vagrant is unaware, Kaylin drags the heavy grate out of place. Kaylin Moor “Good luck, and I'll advise against torches, it’s like a powder keg down there. It will be dark and foul, but it’s the quickest way into the bowels of that infernal place.” Handing you a crude map of the sewer system, she turns to go. A horrible stench rolls out from the hole, and you see an old iron ladder leading down into the darkness. One long tunnel stretches ahead, the darkness punctuated by occasional glimmers of light from above. The walls are made of rough brick and concrete, frequently cracked and ubiquitously stained, and the floor is hidden under a channel of slime. A narrow ledge runs high enough along each wall to offer a place to walk above the muck, but only barely–one quick storm would conceal the ledges, as well. The stench here is atrocious, hundreds of uniquely vile odors commingling in the air. Moor was right when she said neck-deep, at least for some. A cursory glance indicates that the filth is nearly 3 feet deep. The stench of rot, open sewage and mildew emanates from the dripping sewer walls. Every few dozen feet, thin shafts of moonlight fall through sporadic iron grates in the ceiling, providing just enough light to cast terrible shadows on the things that crawl and swim about the sewer. Rats and other vermin scurry in every direction. Somewhere in the distance, a strange gurgling sound echoes grotesquely off the slime-covered tunnel. A faint light can be seen up ahead. The sewer continues on, where the map suggests, although a collapse in the wall opens up a recently flooded stonework tunnel. The air in this room is stagnant and foul, tainted by the odor of death. There is no moonlight here; instead, a sickly light emanates from somewhere beneath the river of sewage which has poured in through the gap in the wall. Shadows writhe across three 6-foot-long caskets now floating on the lake of fetid mud, and torch sconces line the walls, even their ashes long since fallen away. The passage continues on, rising out of the water to a dry stepped room This room has yet to be overrun with sewage, and so the small yellow flame burning atop a stone platform on the dirt floor lights the area cleanly. Six unmarked graves line the east and west walls, one of which appears to have been disturbed. A glistening purple slime is spattered on the walls and floor, with maggots crawling in the ooze. Scattered across the ground are several rusted swords and maces, dead rats and tattered pieces of clothing, all covered with the same slime. A pile of dry bones rests in one corner, topped with a broken skull. Another passage leads on, continuing away from the sewer. The only light in this chamber is cast from the previous room, providing a foreboding atmosphere. The air is cold and damp, and carries a stench far worse than anything produced by the sewer. The floor is covered in slime-covered bones and rotting rat carcasses, and eerie shadows dance upon the walls. Against the far wall is a 9-foot-wide stone sarcophagus, heavily detailed and lined with silver runes. A sweet disembodied voice flickers through the room. Sweet Voice "Please, my saviors. Please. I need you to touch the sarcophagus. I've been trapped here for so long." The voice sounds pleasant enough and Maxi inspects the sarcophagus further, touching his hand to it. A burst of enervating energy ripples out of the sarcophagus as several of the runes begin to glow. Sweet Voice "I feel the bonds loosening! Please hero! Again!" Whistle joyously slams both her hands on the casket, laughing as the energy ripples outward again. Sweet Voice "Just once more! I am almost free and your reward awaits!" Maxi looks back at the party, who back up and out of the room and gingerly lays his hand on the smooth stone lid. The lid of the sarcophagus cracks open and an ear-splitting shriek fills the air. Rising out of its stone prison, a spectral elven maiden reaches her whitherd hand out and swipes at Maxi. All of the colour rushes out of his face and he turns to flee. From beneath the water in the previous room a hairless, hunched creature rushes at the party, cutting off their escape. It swings its claws at Glath, striking his flesh. Glath starts back in horror as his body seizes up. Maxi flees down the tunnel in horror as Camila, Whistle and Damien fight the dread banshee. The banshee orders the ghast to put the dwarf into the casket. The ghast lifts Glath into the air just as Camilla holds aloft her holy symbol to turn undead. Without dropping the paralyzed dwarf, the ghast is turned and flees in fear down the tunnel after Maxi. The party manage to disperse the banshee and head down the tunnel after Glath and Maxi. They find Maxi huddled in a corner and Glath's legs sticking straight up out of the muck. Luckily for them, Glath was able to hold he breath long enough not to drown in the raw sewage. They make their way, following the map and find themselves in a small alcove. The floor is buried in piles of garbage and rotten food. A length of rope lays coiled in the muck, frayed and useless. In the ceiling, roughly 10 feet up, is a small wooden door. The trap door is chained closed, but can open just enough for the party to see the makings of the asylum kitchens. 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